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Post by ancientempathy on Oct 29, 2009 18:42:56 GMT -5
Even I'm guilty of making a mistake or two on this. In general this type of fictional setting probably doesn't have modern-day terminology/phrases. Low level alts I've been making over the course of 2 months have shown me that some of the newer players are using things like: "That was totally cool" "Sweet, when's the next fight?" It is mostly to them do I make a post like this in hopes to help  I do make a comment on it in game as well, in a manner of a food-for-thought discussion. "Perhaps consider saying word-x instead?"Or something else suitably similar. I don't know if I'm just too nitpicky or not, but...I just don't foresee it as realistic. Not a huge concern, though I encourage players to try and think outside the box with what terms they use |
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shimmerxxx
Old School
Yer spilt me pint!
Posts: 406
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Post by shimmerxxx on Oct 29, 2009 19:28:17 GMT -5
It does may me cringe when PCs use "Hi", "Heya", "Ok" and "Sure".
My dwarf got into an argument with a tallin once as he was greeted with "hi", he assumed it has some sort of pun about his height.
If someone says "Sure" instead of "Yes" I often reply "Aye I'm sure else I wouldn't have asked tha question".
For some reason I don't mind hin using those words as it seems to fit them well.
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Post by Lokarn on Oct 29, 2009 19:44:22 GMT -5
.... *Grumbles*
I'm on a roll today, it's rant day I guess.
I blame the internet for the speed of which our language is deteriorating. That coupled with text messaging is making our country full of complete idiot children! [Sorry if you aren't in the USA, in which case comgratulations]
Back on topic... Yes modern day slang used in this game setting makes me wonder if these people even know what D&D stands for.
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Post by ancientempathy on Oct 29, 2009 19:45:07 GMT -5
BIG BOOBIES
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Post by Charon's Claw on Oct 29, 2009 19:46:35 GMT -5
.... *Grumbles* I'm on a roll today, it's rant day I guess. I blame the internet for the speed of which our language is deteriorating. That coupled with text messaging is making our country full of complete idiot children! [Sorry if you aren't in the USA, in which case comgratulations] I second  Even I'm guilty of making a mistake or two on this. In general this type of fictional setting probably doesn't have modern-day terminology/phrases. Low level alts I've been making over the course of 2 months have shown me that some of the newer players are using things like: "That was totally cool" "Sweet, when's the next fight?" It is mostly to them do I make a post like this in hopes to help I do make a comment on it in game as well, in a manner of a food-for-thought discussion. "Perhaps consider saying word-x instead?"Or something else suitably similar. I don't know if I'm just too nitpicky or not, but...I just don't foresee it as realistic. Not a huge concern, though I encourage players to try and think outside the box with what terms they use Seconded! |
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Post by Lokarn on Oct 29, 2009 19:49:47 GMT -5
Errm... QFT!!111oneoneOnEoNe |
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Post by kaltorac on Oct 29, 2009 20:18:39 GMT -5
I've known for awhile that society was on a downward death spiral. It's become all the more apparent that we're all doomed. Today I actually had someone respond with "LOL" to a joke I told. Uhm ... not one I typed. One I told while in line paying for groceries this afternoon. Even sadder is the fact that this is the second time this year someone has responded ... outloud ... "LOL, that's funny!". It also reminds me of the "Scrubs" episode where girlfriend gets dumped for never laughing at a joke, but always responding with "That's so funny" instead.
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Post by ancientempathy on Oct 29, 2009 20:21:53 GMT -5
ROFL I'm screwed then, I've sometimes responded to someone's joke by saying "Laugh out loud" ;D
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Post by Munroe on Oct 29, 2009 20:29:17 GMT -5
It does may me cringe when PCs use "Hi", "Heya", "Ok" and "Sure". My dwarf got into an argument with a tallin once as he was greeted with "hi", he assumed it has some sort of pun about his height. If someone says "Sure" instead of "Yes" I often reply "Aye I'm sure else I wouldn't have asked tha question". For some reason I don't mind hin using those words as it seems to fit them well. Actually, I don't have a problem with any of the ones you cited. I cringe when I hear someone say "cool" or "awesome" though, or "dude." I have no problem with OK though. I think OK is actually pretty great because it's an abbreviation of a misspelling. OK is short for Oll Korrect. (A misspelling of "all correct.") I have no objection to "hi" for the same reason I have no objection to "hello." "Hello" is a thoroughly modern greeting too, as it was invented by the inventors of the telephone to be how you would greet someone on the telephone. Really don't know about the origins of "hey" and "sure," but I take them for granted in regular speech so I don't think anything about hearing them in-game either. They don't conjure up images of modernity so I don't personally find them disruptive. |
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Post by Munroe on Oct 29, 2009 20:31:49 GMT -5
From dictionary.com: Origin:
initials of a facetious folk phonetic spelling, e.g., oll or orl korrect representing all correct, first attested in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1839, then used in 1840 by Democrat partisans of Martin Van Buren during his election campaign, who allegedly named their organization, the O.K. Club, in allusion to the initials of Old Kinderhook, Van Buren's nickname, derived from his birthplace Kinderhook, New York
Usage note:
Few Americanisms have been more successful than ok, which survived the political campaign of 1840 that fostered it, quickly lost its political significance, and went on to develop use as a verb, adverb, noun, and interjection. The expression was well known in England by the 1880s. Today ok has achieved worldwide recognition and use. It occurs in all but the most formal speech and writing. |
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Post by iangallowglas on Oct 29, 2009 20:42:50 GMT -5
Seamus uses all the words Shimmer pointed out. I try to have my characters greet and talk in different fashions. Seamus is uneducated, was illiterate for most of his career (Darina had pity and taught him to read, that or she was ordered to  ) so I tried to use simple words for him. His vocabulary has increased since he became involved with a wizard. I remember using these words as a kid, and since I'm older than dirt, I figure the words are too ;D But words like "dude, sweet, and totally" seem to modern to me. |
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Post by soulfien on Oct 29, 2009 22:51:35 GMT -5
I was halfway through typing out "bite the bullet" when I stopped realizing that there are no guns in D&D and sling bullets don't go boom when you bite them!
I quickly rephrased it.
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Post by megascorpion on Oct 30, 2009 0:02:00 GMT -5
I agree pretty much with Munroe.
And I do make mistakes too, just the other day I accidentally typed 'right off the bat' in character and of course proceeded to cut both my arms off and get new one's.
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Post by Munroe on Oct 30, 2009 0:13:02 GMT -5
Yeah, I tend to make baseball references on occasion. I'm not a baseball fan or anything (quite the opposite, actually), they are just common expressions that I take for granted. Sometimes I'll catch myself typing out an expression that is common in modern usage but wouldn't make sense to someone a hundred years ago.
I do find myself tempted to have Lydia say "totally" once in awhile because I think it fits her personality, but I'm uncertain whether I've ever let that slip through. Whenever she would say it, I'm expressly aware of it.
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Post by EDM Neo on Oct 30, 2009 5:02:09 GMT -5
I usually just figure that, just like how our characters aren't -really- speaking English, they're just speaking Common that's been translated into English for us player's convenience, when any semi-modern slang is used, they aren't -really- using real life slang, they're rather using the equivalent Faerunian slang, translated to its English equivalent so us players will get the gist of it.
There is a line I draw somewhere, but it usually works pretty well.
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Post by DM Justicar - Creator of FRC on Oct 30, 2009 9:11:55 GMT -5
I am just going to paraphrase the rulebook on this:
Players should speak in a manner that is consistent with classic literature or a high fantasy setting. Players should refrain from modern slang at all times.
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Post by ancientempathy on Oct 30, 2009 9:55:45 GMT -5
And there we have it |
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Post by EDM Neo on Oct 30, 2009 9:58:01 GMT -5
The tricksy part, I think, is figuring out where to draw the line. Things like Ancient's examples, "rad" and "cool" and so on are pretty obvious... then you have things like Shimmer's "hey" and "hi" and "sure," which I've always just thought of as normal speech, not as slang at all. A few months back, one of my characters used "my bad," and someone told me they thought it was slang... prior to that, I just thought it as normal English. (Ends up, it's a modern translation of an old Latin phrase... see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_bad_(expression)) That's the thing about using an evolving language with many different dialects, accents, etc... and that's why I usually just use my previously mentioned excuse when it does come up. |
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Post by Munroe on Oct 30, 2009 23:09:28 GMT -5
"My bad" is slang for "my fault," which would be much closer to mea culpa in literal translation.
"My bad," to the best of my knowledge, originates in the 1990s. I first became aware of it in high school. I've since noticed its transition to very common usage. I thought it was corny (contrived) when Optimus Prime said "my bad" in the Transformers movie.
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Post by 828stingstingneo on Oct 31, 2009 10:01:28 GMT -5
That's too bad. "My bad" doesn't hold a candle to the coolness of "mea culpa" in my book. *sighs*
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Post by The Supreme Watcher on Oct 31, 2009 12:41:05 GMT -5
I pretty much have Garum use proper english at all times, interspersed with a good helping of "Uh..." "Er..." and "Erm..."s whenever someone just flabbergasts him with stupidity.
For the most part his language is business oriented, and as such, he uses the term "finance" a lot. What does the community think about that? I know there's a banking system on FRC, but it's not a real loan bank.
Other than that, I use "damn" a lot in my speech, and occasionally let an "s" bomb slip, but I never have my character drop the "f" bomb as I have seen others do. Furthermore, my Paladin never uses any profanity, usually rubbing his forehead angrily and then saying "That is unfortunate." How does the community feel about some of the er... "naughty" words, even if a character would, realistically, use them?
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Post by Lokarn on Oct 31, 2009 12:53:04 GMT -5
I want to say that the swear words we all use would not even make any sense to people is our setting. Many of our words are based on modern slang. I would guess some words could be made to fit, such as hells instead of hell.
Edit:
There is also this rule, which to be honest hardly ever seems to be enforced.
5) No use of foul or abusive language or swearing. Please remain civil and relatively sane at all times. Becoming abusive to fellow players or DM's will result in your being banned from the server.
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Post by Munroe on Oct 31, 2009 13:53:53 GMT -5
There is also this rule, which to be honest hardly ever seems to be enforced. 5) No use of foul or abusive language or swearing. Please remain civil and relatively sane at all times. Becoming abusive to fellow players or DM's will result in your being banned from the server. The rule there says to remain "relatively sane." I always read that to mean that saying an expletive on a very rare occasion isn't such a problem, but if it's a regular part of speech then it is. The second part of the rule deals with foul language as verbal abuse. This is a more serious concern than a dirty word dropping once in awhile and has more to do with intent of the usage. ----------------------------------- As relates to using foul language on a regular basis, I have to say I don't like to see regular use of phonetically similar words that are clearly meant to represent the same word either. I've observed this on more than one occasion from some foul-mouthed stouts, but they're not the only ones. |
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shimmerxxx
Old School
Yer spilt me pint!
Posts: 406
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Post by shimmerxxx on Oct 31, 2009 15:38:18 GMT -5
The tricksy part, I think, is figuring out where to draw the line. Things like Ancient's examples, "rad" and "cool" and so on are pretty obvious... then you have things like Shimmer's "hey" and "hi" and "sure," which I've always just thought of as normal speech, not as slang at all. *nods* They may have been used in the US for ages but they've only recently been adopted over here so I guess that why I pick up on them more! I've been fortunate not to have witnessed any "rads". Have heard a few "cools" to which I usually reply that yes indeed, it is a bit cold isn't it? |
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Post by tskfrc58 on Nov 1, 2009 11:37:07 GMT -5
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Post by ShadowCatJen on Nov 3, 2009 15:54:33 GMT -5
The Faerunian pantheon is always a good fallback for both swear terms and even as replacements for modern vernacular.
Any curse can have the following format:
By <Deity Name>'s <Specific Body Part>
"By Tyr's Eyes, can he not tell a thief when he sees one?"
"Auril's Left Foot, is it cold!"
"Clanggaden's Balls! How many children did ya say ya have?"
Typically having it that the body part and/or Deity matches the situation at hand.
For modern vernacular replacements there isn't an easy formula, but the gods again are a good fallback.
Instead of "looking sharp" use "looking a cut of Sune".
Instead of "right off the bat" use "quick as Lathander's blade", referring to Lathander's sometimes immediate reaction to things.
D&D based creatures can also be used. Referring to dragons in any extremely difficult situation or an unwise one is a good one to go with. So instead of saying:
"About hard as trying to pull crocodile teeth."
Simply replace crocodile with dragon and you have a better Faerunian fit. Not every area in Faerun has crocodiles, but everyone knows what a dragon is.
"Cool", "awesome", "neat", "rad", and other vernacular indicating approval or appreciation for a situation or object can be replaced in similar manners. Though using the replacements of "grand", "good", "fantastic" is far easier, here are some other examples.
"Total babe", "She looks hot", "He's a hunk", "Hunky", or any other modern statement referring to a woman/man's "hotness level" replace it with...
"She's a bit of Sune's Hair."
"My, my, there's a man straight from Lathander's stable." (Lathander being considered one of the handsomest of the male deities, crossed with the Stallion/Stud reference.)
For "cool", "rad", "kickin'" and the likes there can be alternative shortened versions of more acceptable words.
"Tastic" instead of "rad", a shortened version of "fantastic".
"Sgood" instead of "cool", a condensed version of "It is good."
"Roarin'" instead of "awesome", roaring referring to the power and intensity of a dragon's roar.
"Gobsh.ite" instead of "Gross", referring to anything of a Goblin nature as it's bound to be disgusting.
Just some suggestions.
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Post by ancientempathy on Nov 3, 2009 16:00:55 GMT -5
Good post, beat me to it |
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Post by minion on Nov 3, 2009 17:29:44 GMT -5
i've always loved "by the bloated corpse of Orcus" myself.
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Post by Munroe on Nov 3, 2009 19:23:08 GMT -5
i've always loved "by the bloated corpse of Orcus" myself. You always go to the most romantic places for your trysts. |
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Post by 828stingstingneo on Nov 4, 2009 8:56:07 GMT -5
I'm willing to abide by the classical language only rule (though I admit that I occasionally slip up without realizing it), but for my own edification I've been going through Forgotten Realms books to see how they handle it. I'm pretty sure I've seen popular proverbs either verbatim or slightly changed to fit the setting, but so far I haven't come across any examples. I started with the Maztica Trilogy which probably has more classical language in it than most because the Mazticans don't even speak the common tongue and are less likely to use any slang. However, there is a dwarf who used "ain't." So far, that's it. Perhaps I'll add more on this later. As for swearing, I specifically remember Elminster saying, "Oh, dung," in another trilogy I've read. I think at least one of my characters has used this in game as well. Glan's paladin reminds me of my favorite curse from the voice set: "I am almost tempted to swear. . . ."  Though, "Buttons and barn doors!" is pretty funny as well. I've also noticed that some of the voice sets use expressions like "hi," so I hope that at least would be acceptable, although I don't think the makers of NWN paid quite as much attention to the FR setting as they could have when they designed the game. In a slightly different vein, what do you think about formal characters using words like "thee" and "thou?" Is that appropriate for a FR setting? |
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I do make a comment on it in game as well, in a manner of a food-for-thought discussion. "Perhaps consider saying word-x instead?"
) so I tried to use simple words for him. His vocabulary has increased since he became involved with a wizard. I remember using these words as a kid, and since I'm older than dirt, I figure the words are too ;D But words like "dude, sweet, and totally" seem to modern to me. 
Though, "Buttons and barn doors!" is pretty funny as well.